Deciding what to do with my watermelon this week was super easy…just slice it and eat it!

I did, however, try a new way of slicing my melon…with DENTAL FLOSS! I can not take credit for this hack. I saw it on a facebook video and just had to give it a try.

Cut the watermelon in half, and then cut the half again.

Now it is time to break out the floss. See images below!

Slicing Watermelon with Floss

Slicing Watermelon with Floss

Slicing Watermelon with Floss

Slicing Watermelon with Floss

Slicing Watermelon with Floss

Slicing Watermelon with Floss

Slicing Watermelon with Floss

It worked perfectly! And…no…my watermelon did not taste like mint. You do have to put the watermelon rine against your body when you are doing the first pass with the floss. This is a sacrifice I was willing to make because of how easy this trick made slicing the watermelon. You could always put a towel between yourself and the watermelon as well.

Apple Nachos:

Basically a decadent candy apple on a plate. Whenever I am having a craving for something snacky and sweet, this is my go to!

CSA stands for community supported agriculture. Basically, you pay an upfront fee, and you have access to farm fresh produce (and other goods such as milk, cheese, and eggs) on a weekly basis.

This is my first time joining a CSA. I decided on a location that is convenient for me to pickup my produce on the way home from the office. I also chose a small share, which should be a good amount of produce for myself, my husband, and our young daughter. The CSA that I choose to be a part of runs for 9 weeks in the fall (there was a summer session as well, but I didn’t sign up in time for that one!).

I picked up my first CSA box on Tuesday, and here is what was in it!

2 cucumbers

1 bag of potatoes (4 large)

1 large cantaloupe

1 head of romaine lettuce

5 peaches

3 tomatoes (actually from a friend’s garden)

Fresh Produce from our local farm

Time for a plan! I do not want any of my precious produce to go to waste. I was really hoping to get creative with my recipes, but it has been a busy week, so here is what I have done so far!

Garden Salad

Ingredients:

1 head of romaine lettuce (from CSA)

1 cucumber (from CSA)

1 tomato (from a friends garden)

1/4 cup freshly shredded cheddar cheese

1/4 sweet onion- chopped

I chopped everything up. Placed it in a clear glass bowl and then popped it in the fridge.

TIP #1** Anytime that I prep a batch of salad, I always put it in a clear glass bowl. This ensures that each time I open the fridge, I see salad. This makes me so much more likely to grab a quick bowl of salad rather than reaching for another snack or food. It also allows me to keep an eye on how fresh the veggies are looking.

Fresh green lettuce

TIP #2** I shred the cheese ahead of time, but I do not add it until I am ready to eat it. This keeps my cheese from getting all wet and slimy…gross. You can use bagged shredded cheese too, I just prefer to shred my own…mostly because it is cheaper!

Cantaloupe

I do not like cantaloupe. It smells so good, but I just don’t enjoy the taste of it. Maybe I’ve just never had a good cantaloupe? Regardless, I am determined to not let anything go to waste, and I am pushing my self to try new things.

NOTE* one great thing about my CSA is that they have a trade table. If I really did not want my cantaloupe, I could leave it on the trade table and take something else (like more potatoes!).

I did not do anything fancy with my cantaloupe. I cut it up once it was ripe…took a few bites…then took it with me to the office where my coworkers finished it for me!

Potatoes

The potatoes I saved and they went into one of my favorite dinners….shrimp and sausage cajun foil bakes. See pictures and the recipe in CSA Week 2 here.

Peaches

We let them sit on the counter until they softened a bit. Sliced them. Ate them. BORING I know! With fresh produce like this…it doesn’t take a lot of work.